Bozeman Montana Real Estate Information

The Gallatin County Commission will try to fix a nearly 36-year old loophole that allowed a 3.5 km sized district surrounding Manhattan to not pay taxes on their planning services. The district, created in 1978, was indoctrinated as a jurisdictional area. Within the jurisdictional area, as oppose to a tax district, property owners were never taxed for the planning services they received. Residents of the county and city did pay for those services.

When the problem was discovered in 1994, Manhattan and the Gallatin County entered into discussions to fix the problem. Now, with the County Commission’s approval, the County will be able to authorize mill levies to tax property owners in the district. Last year, the county paid about $3,500 for planning in the Manhattan city and surrounding area.

As of yet, no decision has been made on how much the property taxes within the district would increase. However, Manhattan has seen positive signs for new growth in the area, making planning services all the more important. Lots of new lots have been offered in the Centennial Village subdivision and an unnamed developer has been working on starting a new subdivision near Manhattan, but the details have not been made public.

Gallatin County, in general, continues to grow. Planning committees will become all the more important to keep the growth healthy, consistent and under control. Having the proper funding will keep the best people in those positions, helping keep real estate and new home construction in Gallatin County growing in a healthy manner.